Anita, this is a touching and beautiful tribute. I cannot put words to the grief I feel, even from afar and not personally knowing anyone affected by this tragedy. But I think this affects all of us in some way. I know for myself, and I can hear it in your post, too, that our hearts are broken. May God be with those who are bearing such excruciating grief.

A beautiful post. Words cannot quite describe the tragedy of these innocent victims. Our hearts and our prayers lift up to our Lord as we lay them at His feet and hope that He will wash the survivors in Love, Hope and Faith for the future. Sharon x

Dearest Anita, this is a wonderful post and i'm so touched by the beauty of it. What happened in CT is so unbelievable and horrible. Life goes on for these parents and christmas is coming without their kids ... And you are right about the borrowed breaths and stolen moments - sometimes, they are our only rescue and possibilty to find faith, hope and love. Hope your sunday is filled with these moments dear one! xox

Dear Anita: In God I find refuge when i cannot find answers or when I question the purpose and sense of life. In Buddha's teaching, I find peace and calmness. I will pray to day to accept the cruel imperfections of life. With only a few degrees of separation, I will spend time with my friend today, whose son lost his little friend on that fateful morning. May this horrific act of insanity be a wake up call to parents, to society, to guns video games designers whose mass marketed videos are solely based on violence and have desensitized the act of killing, to Hollywood...please invest in movies that show the good in people... Let us hope and pray.

As one mother said, the only difference between me and 20 other grieving mothers is chance and luck. I was in that town almost every weekend and considered moving there. It hits too close to home and makes me hug my son just a little bit tighter over the holidays.My heart goes out to those suffering and I pray that comfort finds its way in to their hearts.

A beautiful and moving tribute to a senseless tragedy. I am just reeling from this.....there really are not words to convey the sadness. I grieve along with all those families. I just cannot imagine. I hope God will keep them close under his wing and protect and guide them during these dark days. I hope you have a relaxing Sunday, Anita.

simply beautiful and inspiring.Easy to loose faith and hope in these kinds of situations....BUTthat is when we have to hold on the tightest and increase our love and support for allLove is stronger then Evil.....and the Lord's example will always reign supreme

Beautiful and so touching Anita! Thank you for posting this tribute. I am still so overwhelmed with grief and sadness. However, I've been taking solace in the presence and love of my little ones. Blessing to you my dear friend. XX

Love the snow images Anita and we really are due for some of the white stuff, maybe it will snow a little on Christmas and I know some folks would really like that! And thank you for stopping by on Jeans last post today, and I hope you can drop over again this week and say hello. Richard

Hi Anita. Thank you for your lovely comments about my work. And thank you for sharing with me about Violet Skiles. I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at her art. You asked about my header. Yes, I did do the drawings that are used in the header. But Karen Valentine used them to create my blog design. She is wonderful. You can see her link at the bottom of my sidebar. Thanks for stopping by and chatting!

I could not listen to the music at this time as well. Music tends to create such powerful emotions and I already am over the top. The emotions come in waves and as I write they come even more and I am only an observer I cannot imagine being one there. Even without the music your post is an expression of the love within and surrounds us in our sorrow.

Safe in the arms of JesusHoly days and Holy nightsWe humbly fall to our knees with grief knowing that we took prayers out of schools, but now we pray in our schools. Now we know when man fails, we need our savior so desperately. He is the only one who can heal the hearts of mankind in such grief.

Quite wonderful. terribly sad and shocking event. I wonder how American is feeling for her friends across the pond are weeping. Heartbreaking at any time, but just before Christmas makes it even more poignant.

My dear Anita, I still can't seem to find words. Your's are wonderful so I will borrow them today. I love the weeping angel, you can just feel her agony. I hope you have a blessed week and thank you again for the beautiful post. Hugs, Lisa

Morning my friend....how are you today? Woke up to snow today...so pretty. 3 more days of school! I tell you the teachers are dropping like flies at our school... flu bug flying around! I must make sure no bug lands on me!! Have a happy day. xoxoxo

You were one of the teachers I thought of that day.I thought,how can these teachers all over the US keep teaching with peace of mind.Knowing how I personally struggle with anxiety, the Lord knew I couldn't handle being a teacher in these days.May the Lord of all give you complete peace daily as you teach.Love Denise...............and please, You both have a blessed Christmas-Enjoy eachothers company.

Anita,What a beautiful tribute to the children and adults who lost their lives in Connecticut. The song you chose is perfect.

When I saw that white horse, it took my breath away. Our white horse Dapper went to heaven several years ago. I always picture him greeting the people who arrive in heaven. I could see several little children riding on his back showing the children the sights of heaven.

Such a beautiful post, so much expresses what is in my heart. You always can capture visually what we all feel in our hearts.

Thanks for stopping by at my blog Anita, and I hope your able to stop by this Wednesday for the classic ad. I have another feeling that your going to love the recipe as well as the post, just a strong feeling...... Richard

Oh my goodness Anita .. this is an amazing piece. Your speak the truth, they are angels.

I've had to take a little bit of an ostrich in the sand approach with this. It's so painful .. I can only take so much. The hearts will never heal. The scar will remain and I pray the families will recover to some degree.

Morning dear one!!!! Well I got a surprise today...I am all dressed ready to fly out the door to school and my daughter yells at me ...ITS A SNOW DAY!!! really??? Yes we have snow but not oooooodles??...so I check the school website and sure enough..public schools are in but not us!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...a gift from GOD I say! Now I have one extra day to get things done. Pure joy.Thank you for your sweet messages on my blog today...wish I could come visit you with a fresh batch of gingerbread sticks..so yummy dipped in tea! Made them last night..today I eat thm! You would love them.....have a great day sweet one,let your light shine xoxoxo

That precious child sings Holy Nite,so beautiful. Such a lovely tribute for the little fallen Angels.God bless their souls. Its hard to be Merry this year when so many are hurting. May God bless you Anita

Hello dearest Anita!!!!My husband & I were deeply saddened & SHOCKED by what happened in CT last Friday!!!! I really don't have many words- it's so difficult to wrap my head around- WHY?!!!! Why did that kid do such a horrible thing!!!! I cry every time I see CNN and those beautiful children's photos and those amazing teachers!!!!! All heros!!!!! It's so amazing to see all the family and friends supporting them. You can see how close these families are. I pray for them and only wish them peace and healing. I can't believe Christmas is coming so fast!!!!We're supposed to get some strange weather overnight. It's been mild here (50's) but it's supposed to storm overnight & get COLD!!!! Snow is expected north of here.I wouldn't mind a pretty snowfall but I think we're too south of the storm. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday evening....Luv & Hugs,Shannon

You are creating in your basement! What joy...are you almost done? Please do take a photo and share!Well no more school for me for 2 weeks..yahoo...but I am afraid I may have caught the BUG..my stomach is doing something crazy tonight and I am praying I am not in for a long night...my students all have this dreaded stomach flu...I will try to go to bed early tonight and try to sleep it off...Have a great evening my friend...only a few more days tell Christmas. xo

Our nations hearts are breaking and tears are flowing uncontrollably. There are no words for the pain being felt by their loved ones left behind on this place we call mother earth. May God somehow comfort them in their consuming grief and sorrow.

Dear girl,Replying to your glorious message over at mine. Before I enter lighthearted banter, I am more than aware that this post of yours was very sensitive, and about something terribly distressing. I have posted already on that subject. Something that still continues to shock me.....Onto lighthearted banter. Y Fronts are men's pants. They have an upside down Y shape on the front and are not attractive. Google them!Why are you on your own? Don't like the sound or thought of it.What's going on? x x xx x x

Dear Anita,What a beautiful and emotional post this is! You always know exactly how to express your feelings with pictures!Anita, I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!Hugs and kisses,Greet

Hi Anita!Your post is very moving...I have been so deeply saddened by the shooting in CT...it's such a nightmare. I am saddened for the tremendous grief that the families will endure,Many years ago, a friend of mine lost a child ... Her daughter was going into sixth grade (same age and grade as my daughter, Rachael) when she caught a virus that was so deadly...it took her life in 24 hours.I will never, ever forget the heart wrenching grief that my friend suffered. Every holiday, every major event that Rachael experiences, I think of my friend...

People think they know how to stop this... Gun control, armed guards... Only teachers know how violent media (movies and video games) have become such a part of the lives of the young men we teach.I have students that have Xbox in their bedrooms and never sleep at night. They are so addicted, their parents have no idea how to control their sons. They come to school tired, dazed and with no homework done.Having an armed guard might help if a gunman is "polite" and comes through the front door... But when you have an assault weapon, or any weapon for that matter, do you worry how you're going to enter a building that is half brick and half GLASS?I think the "talking heads" which includes our politicians ... forget what a school looks like!My classroom has so much glass!My daughter, Amanda's classroom is on the first floor and one wall is solid windows. How foolish it is for people to think that a new "rule" or door locks will help.

I'm sorry I just made a speech!

Thank God for his precious son, Jesus, who brings peace and joy and love to the world,And we do need "a little Christmas" right now... Pure Christmas...in our hearts always ...Joy and love to you!~ Maria

Anita first hello, I saw your comment on Amish again about that comment moderation for your blog. I did post a comment for you on your Dec 8 post on how to do that, so I have copied and pasted it for you again here.

I thought that I would answer that question on your own blog instead of my own, so here is that answer again and if you should have any questions please feel free to ask me. You can also shut down comments for one particular post if you wish, so I'm not sure if that was what you were going for with your question.

I looked for an email address on all of your blogs but had no luck so I would have emailed you that instead of posting a comment. Merry Christmas to you and your family and I truly thank you for having stopped by my little blog with your great comments, I will still be blogging when I get back in late Spring, only this time it will be on a much more limited basis (part-time) with only my own images of the country side and Amish life thrown-in. Your non-Amish pal........ Richard

Here is that comment that I copied.

Hey Anita....... I saw your question so I'm here to hopefully answer it. Ok first go to where it says "settings", then click on "post and comments".

Then Anita it will say "Comment Moderation, that is where you can pick from "always or sometimes and never. For myself right after Christmas since I will be gone from my blog for a while I will be going the "always" route, so when I get into my dashboard I will see any comments that have been left for me to check and approve to be published.

I hope this helps and please feel free to ask again if your having trouble with that. I maybe should have gone this way from the start to help prevent any salty language which I sometimes get or spam, hope to see you on the Little House post this Thursday which will have the last recipe for this week.

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